The Daily Blog – Season 1

22nd August 20171st September 2017

1.47 – Why is everyone confused by this?

In the last 6 weeks, productivity on a Monday has soared in the UK. Why’s that? Because Monday is Game of Thrones day. But wait! In case you don’t watch Game of Thrones (despite the fact that you obviously should), that is not what this post is about. I am just going to use it as an example.

(I’ll avoid explicit spoilers, but tread with caution if you are behind)
I enjoyed the beginning of season 7, episode 6 a lot. Set the ‘calm before the storm’ scene really nicely. But the whole second half of the episode, despite being utterly epic, was entirely predictable. I found this to be a great shame since so much of Game of Thrones’ success and awesomeness has come from lack of predictability and surprises.

So speaking more generally, is being predictable bad? If you are running a business or interacting with animals, predictability may be an asset. However if you wear the same thing every day and are predictable in your conversation, you may come across as dull. So as ever, it seems a balance of predictability is required.

But let’s now refine this word.

Consistency is similar in many ways to predictability, yet to me, it seems like a more refined and generally desirable characteristic in a person. Consistency is often the way to build trust and rapport with anyone from business partners to friends. Yet the definitions of the two words are rather similar, and seem to be a source of some confusion. I’d say that consistency is a ‘refined’ version of predictability because it is more like a conscious choice; you may work hard to remain consistent, whereas predictability is bestowed upon you following external observation. Bit like a consequence of consistency I suppose.

Do you agree with this? Do you think predictability is more often a pro or con?